Letter-file.



PATENTED JAN. 3, 1905.

L. SENGE.

LETTER FILE.

APPLICATION rum) an 16, 1903.

IINrrED STATES Patented January 3, 1905.

PATENT i rrrca.

LIBORIUS SENGE, OF CRESCENT SPRINGS, KENTUCKY, ASSIGNOR TO THE GLOBE-VVERNICKE COMPANY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

LETTER-FILE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 779,101, dated January 3, 1905.

Application filed May 16, 1903. Serial No. 157,392.

To all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, LIBORIUS SENGE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Crescent Springs, in the county of Kenton and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Letter-Files, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact de' scription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to that class of drawer or tray files composed of a bottom piece, a front wall, and two side walls, the back end being left open and the whole being intended foruse as a temporary binder to be left upon a desk or to be slipped into a drawer-compartment in a cabinet, as desired. This class of files is usually provided with a spring-bail piece hinged to the side walls and adapted to be automatically pressed down upon the contents of the file at or near the middle of the same and which bail can be raised whenever it is desired to gain access to or remove or replace the contents of the file; and it has for its object the provision of novel mechanism by which the spring-bail is secured to and actuated upon the file, whereby simplicity of construction, durability, and efficiency in action are attained.

The novelty of my invention will be hereinafter more fully set forth, and specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figurel is a sectional side elevation of a file embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly broken away, of a corner of the file shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of the operating mechanism for the bail and its associated parts.

The same letters of reference are used to indicate identical parts in all the figures.

I provide a tray or drawer of the usual construction and consisting of a bottom piece A, front wall B, and side walls C, all united together in the usual or any suitable manner. Upon the inner side of each of the side walls C and adjacent to the front wall B is a shallow metal housing D, secured to the side walls by screws or other suitable fastenings, as at a. The free ends of the bail Cr next to the front wall B pass through openings 5 in the housings D and are bent downward, as at c, Fig. 3, and coiled around a stud (Z, whichforms the fulcrum upon which the bail Gr swings. The bent-down portion 0 of the bail Gr forms a cam, against which looped or goosenecked springs E bear. These springs E are confined within the housings D and by bearing against the cam-shaped ends of the bail Cr tend to hold the same down against the contents of the file and keep the contents in place in the file. When, however, the bail Cr is raised, as shown by the dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 3, to permit of the inspection, removal, or insertion of papers in the file, the cam-shaped ends 0 of the bail Gr pass below the center of the stud (Z and form a toggle-lock to hold the bail in its raised position, as will be readily seen by reference to the dotted lines in Fig. 3.

It will be observed by reference to Fig. 2 that the housings D occupy very little space within the file, in consequence of. which the capacity of the file is not reduced to any appreciable extent. It will also be observed that. by the construction and arrangement of the parts as above described I am enabled to produce an exceedingly cheap and very efficient mechanism for operating the bail-piece and maintaining the contents of the file in their proper position.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim 1. In a file of the character described, a narrow metal housing secured to the side walls of the file, adjacent to its end wall, on each inner side thereof, a locking-bail having a downwardly-bent crank-arm on each end passing through an opening in the top of its adjacent housing and pivoted therein at its lower end, and a spring confined within each of said housings and having its free end bearing against the bend or elbow of the bail to form a toggle-lock when said bail is raised and to exert a downward pressure upon the bail to press its outer bar upon the contents of the file, substantially as described.

2. In a file of the character described, the and having their free ends bearing against combination of the side walls C, narrow metal the elbows of the bail-cranks, substantially as housings D secured thereto, the bail G with described.

downwardly bent crank arms 0 passed I LIBORIUS SENGE. 5 through anopening in the top of the housings, Witnesses:

and pivoted at their lower ends therein, and WM. J. PEOK,

the springs E confined within the housings EDWARD PEOK. 

